(TibetanReview.net, Jun13’24) — Of the more than 100 candidates from 16 European Union (EU) countries who committed to support the Tibetan people in the European Parliament ahead of the Jun 6-9 elections, 25 have got elected, said Washington-based Tibet advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) on its savetibet.org website Jun 11.
Under an EU4Tibet campaign, carried out by an assortment of Tibet and Tibetan groups, including those under the Central Tibetan Administration at Dharamshala, India, candidates were asked to sign a pledge for Tibet committing to support the Tibetan people in the European Parliament if elected.
A total of 115 candidates signed the pledge and committed to defend the EU against China’s threats to security and interference in European democracies, including the transnational repression of Tibetans living in Europe, the group said.
In addition, several political parties have responded to a questionnaire, taking a stand on number of Tibet-related issues.
ICT said it will organize a Tibet Empowerment program in Brussels, which is effectively the EU capital, when it holds its first plenary session in mid-July, featuring participants from several European countries and meetings with newly-elected members of the European Parliament.
The European Parliament has been a leading force in supporting the Tibetan cause, including the Dalai Lama’s proposal of a nonviolent resolution to the Tibet issue, the group said.
It noted that the Tibet Intergroup, established at the beginning of the European Parliament’s third legislature in 1989, is one of the institution’s oldest intergroups. Re-establishing this cross-party group will therefore be a key objective for the Tibet movement this year, providing a vital platform for coordination and support for Tibet within the European Union.
The election, in which about 51% of 370 million-plus electors in 27 EU countries voted, showed gains for right wing and far right parties at the cost of mainly Left and liberal parties, especially the Greens. Still, the centre-right group European People’s Party (EPP) was projected to win the most seats, 186, in the 720-member House that meets in Strasbourg, France — 10 more than in 2019, when too, the EPP was the largest group.